This is so sad...

I found this over at Ruth's Real Food. Thanks Ruth! It is so sad that children do not even now what a tomato is! Parents, it is up to us to teach our children! I taught 1st and 2nd grade and there is not enough time in the day to teach every child, on their level, at their speed...One thing I learned from teaching is the huge responsiblity I have to teach my own children!

Need a neighborhood gift idea?

This was really easy to make. I bought the Better Homes and Gardens pint mason jars from Walmart. They were $7.00 for 12. Buy some candy, make tags, and use some ribbon to attach your tags. You will be into these gifts around $2.50 depending on what you spend on candy. I think candy would be cheaper if you bought bulk from Costco or Sam's Club. They turned out pretty cute, don't you think??


So I am adding a Pin It button, but I can't tell if it works. Let me know if it doesn't... I will try to fix it :)
Pin It

How I lost my pregnancy weight

So happy Samantha has the belly and not me :)
So my pregnancy picture is blurry, but I don't mind because it is scary! Really, I look back when I'm pregnant and cry a little. Okay, not really, but they are not very attractive pictures. I wish I was one of those girls that only gained 20 pounds when pregnant. If you do...let me in on your secret. I gained 42 pounds with Dieter and 45 pounds with Samantha. Eeek! I told you, scary! Luckily, I have always lost the weight. But, it's kind of sad after you have the baby and still have 30 pounds to loose! Well, Samantha is 6 months old now, I am fitting comfortably back into my jeans. Horray! Here is how I have done it...

1. Nurse, nurse, nurse! I am not one of those moms that feeds their baby every 4 hours...sometimes 3, maybe 2 hours...not so good on a schedule.
2. Don't buy food you don't want to eat! Seriously, if you don't want to eat a whole package of Oreos, don't buy them! I do really well staying away from processed food.
3. Homecooked meals! They are so much better for you and your pocket book will be happier too!
4. I am on a high fat diet: whole milk, eggs, cream, butter, cheese, meat...But my grains (carboyhydrates) are limited. Anyone could loose weight on it :)
5. Eat whole foods! Nature intended on us to eat foods in their natural state! Try it! You'll be amazed at how good food tastes!

Well, that is what I have done. Maybe next pregnancy I will only gain 20 pounds :)

Lettuce Wraps

I made these a couple of weeks ago and they were a big hit! It is always nice to give something to Dieter and not have to convince him to eat it (Kimball too!) I made the same recipe Saturday but turned them into stuffed peppers (minus the cheese for Dieter). They were good, but we liked it better as lettuce wraps.

Chicken Meat from 1 small boiled chicken
2 Tbsp Ghee or other cooking fat
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 Anaheim or Poblano Pepper, chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1 medium Zucchini, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup Chicken Stock
Salt to taste
Pinch of Chipotly powder
3 cloves of Garlic, crushed
1-2 tsp Cumin powder
1-2 tsp dried Oregano
1 Lime, juiced
1 large handful of chopped Cilantro

-Remove the meat from the bones and chop into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.
-Melt the fat in a large skillet Add the onion and saute for several minutes to let it soften. Add the peppers and zucchini and continue to saute for several more minutes.
-Add the garlic, salt, and dry spices and let cook for several minutes while stirring. Pour in a little meat stock and continue to saute for about 10 more minutes, adding more stock as the mixture becomes dry to keep it from burning.
-Add the chicken and continue to cook and stir until the mixture is well blended and the meat is heated through.
-Remove the heat, add the lime juice, and cilantro, and adjust seasonings if needed.

Stuffed Bell Peppers



-Make the mixture above, minus the lime juice and cilantro
-Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
-Cut peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds.
-Carefully fill each pepper half and place open side up in pan,
-Pour a little chicken broth around peppers, cover, and bake for 30-45 minutes.

{Recipes from Internal Bliss}

Link Up Here:
Cultured Mama

No, I don't go shopping after Thanksgiving

I wanted to get Dieter a kitchen for Christmas. Of course I like the pink one the best, so I decided that Samantha needed a kitchen for Christmas. Well, Kimball talked me out of it...Samantha could get one for her birthday. My sister called me Thanksgiving morning and told me Target had them on sale for $17. Wow! I would have bought one for Dieter and Samantha. Well, I was too late. They were already sold out. I guess those of you that put the effort into shopping on Black Friday (or Thanksgiving day??) can get some really good deals. Someday we will have this cute little kitchen in our house!!! It's the Kidcraft Vintage Kitchen if your wondering.

I made these yams to take to Kimball's family for Thanksgiving. I found them off of Pinterest. You can find the recipe here Jamie Cooks it Up They weren't healthy, but I did know every ingredient that I put into them. That has to be better than anything from the store! Add a little whip cream and they were as good as any pie!

Sweet Charli Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone for participating! Wander over to Sweet Charli again, she has added adorable new stuff!!

And the winner...(I used a random number generator)

Steph and Brady! Yay! Contact me at shcall13@yahoo.com.

Alot to be Thankful For!

So Thanksgiving is in a couple of days (And I found out they add sugar and flavorings to some turkey. Dieter can't have any...) Anyway, I was thinking about all the blessings in my life. Kimball was gone for 4 weeks (felt like forever) working in Arizona. I didn't realize how much he helped me with the kids and how much I enjoyed talking to somebody besides my kids! I was so happy to have him back! He is such hard worker and an amazing husband and father! I am truly blessed to have him in my life as well as my children!

This is such a great time of the year! I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving!

Apple Pear Salad

I probably make this salad more than any other. It is very simple and delicious. I got the recipe from Kimball's sister. The recipe calls for orange juice, but you can also use grapfruit or lemons. I don't always use pears either. Pretty much just adjust it to your liking :)

2 apples, finely chopped
1 pear, finely chopped
1 orange, juiced
unsweetened shredded coconut
raw almonds, cut in half

-Put apples and pears into a bowl and pour orange juice over top.
-Then add desired amount of coconut and chopped almonds.
-Stir and enjoy!

Pressing Apples

We have never given Dieter juice from the store. So last year we started pressing our own apples. Kimball made the press- we bought the hopper (if that is what it is called? The thing that grinds the apples) We spent Saturday pressing apples. I saved same of the juice to make apple cider vinegar. It should be ready in 3 weeks! I got the recipe from a fermenting cooking class I am taking from Nourished Kitchen.







Apple Cider Vinegar

1 pint raw apple juice
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar (either purchased or from a previous batch)
mason jar with ring
cheesecloth or linen napkin
fliptop bottle, optional, for storage method (I need to buy one!)

-Stir apple juice together with vinegar.
-Pour into a mason jar, cover with cheesecloth or a linen napkin and secure it with the ring of your mason jar. Place it in a dark and cool, but not cold, place in your kitchen.
-Vigorously stir the juice daily (with a wooden spoon) and remove any film or other signs of contamination if they appear.
-After about three weeks, begin testing the acidity of your vinegar by taste-testing. Continue fermenting for a more acid vinegar.
-Transfer to a fliptop bottle for storage, leaving at least one to two inches of headspace in case of continued fermentation. Raw vinegar is likely to continue fermenting if you store at room temperature, and its flavor will gradually become more acid and slightly more complex with age.

The Best Birth Control on the Market!!

During one of Dieter's tantrums, Kimball turned to me and said, "No More!" I just smiled and said, "But the baby is so good!" Good times! I Love having a two year old around! Happy Friday! I will spend the evening snuggled on the couch reading The Lord of the Rings with Kimball. We're on the 2nd book- So good! See you Monday!

Make your own Eggnog this season!

{Recipe adapted from Homecooking.About.com}

I made this last night. It was like a sweet little treat! This recipe isn't very allergy friendly but it's a good one! I do have a dairy free eggnog recipe that I will post later (I want to try it first :)

6 large eggs, plus 2 yolks
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
Additional grated nutmeg for garnish

-Combine eggs, egg yolks, honey, and salt in a heavy saucepan, whisking until well combined.
-Pour milk in slowly and whisk until combined.
-Turn burner on low. Stir continuously until the temperature of mixture reaches 160 degrees F. At that point it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
-Strain your mixture through a fine sieve to remove any accidental small cooked bits of egg.
-Add vanilla extract and nutmeg.
-Pour into a glass pitcher or container and cover.
-Refrigerate least 4 hours or up to 3 days before finishing.
-When ready to serve, pour heavy cream into a bowl and whip until it forms soft peaks. Fold whipped cream into eggnog.
-Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg.
-Enjoy!

I Blinked...

And Samantha is now 6 months old! Is time moving faster? I let her play in some squash the other day. This was the first food I gave her. I am going to try to do the baby-led-weaning thing, where she will play around in food until she decides she wants to eat. I am still nursing her so I am not worried about her eating other food yet. I need to make some chicken stock salt free and then I will let her try it.

Meet Our Animals

This is Rabbit. In the summer a cute brown rabbit showed up...it had babies...6 babies...Here is one of them. We need to do something with them before we have lots of bunnies. I have heard rabbit tastes like chicken...I don't know if I am brave enough :)


This hen had 5 chicks. Cute!


Dieter loves his boots and who needs pants anyway? Here are a few of our laying chickens. We have around 20.


2 cows. The brown cow we were going to eat...It had a baby. We'll eat it next year :)The black and white cow is a milk cow that we are going to try to get pregnant.


Baby cow. It's cute. I don't know what we are going to do with it :)


Here are some meat chickens. We have 80. We will have them for a month or so longer.

****Sweet Charli Giveaway****

****GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED****

Hi Everyone! Head over to Sweet Charli and look at her Vintage Dresses. Aren't they adorable!!! One lucky winner will get to pick the color and size of their choice! If you don't have a little girl, enter anyway and save if for a gift! What a great giveaway!



To enter the giveaway, become a follower of Raising Dieter and leave me a comment. For an additonal entry, become a follower of Sweet Charli and leave me a comment. Good Luck! Winner drawn next week!

The Winner of Mrs. Jones' Soapbox Giveaway!

Thanks everybody for participating! If you haven't already, check out Mrs. Jones' Soapbox on Etsy. She has really great products that work well!

And the winner is....

Besty Hoff. Horray! I will contact you via email!


Check back tomorrow because I am starting another giveaway!

Guess What I Made?

{Recipe from Internal Bliss}

I bet you'll never guess (except for my picture above)...First, let me tell you that before Dieter had his allergies I had really never cooked before. Now, I am discovering how much I love it and how many good things there are to eat! Ok, ready...Marshmallows! Who knew you could make marshmallows? They were so easy and they taste so good! Dieter has never been able to have marshmallows before and he loves these! I am a fan of coconut so it was an extra treat that these are rolled in shredded coconut. It might seem like there are a lot of steps, but these are easy to make. I made them after my kids went to bed one night! Oh, and I don't have a stand mixer-I just used my hand held.

Honey Marshmallows

3 packages unflavored Gelatin
1 cup ice cold Filtered Water, divided
2 cups Honey
1/4 teaspon Salt
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup unsweetened Coconut Shreds
Coconut Flour for dusting
Coconut Oil or Ghee for greasing pan

-Grease a 13x9 inch glass baking pan. Add the shredded coconut and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Save any extra for coating marshmallows after cut.
-Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Use the whisk attachment.
-In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, honey, and salt.
-Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes.
-Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees, approximately 7 to 8 minutes.
-Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
-Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the honey syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture.
-Once you have added all the syrup, increase the speed to high.
-Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12-15 minutes.
-Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.
-When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled or greased spatula for spreading evenly into the pan.
-Dust the top with enough of the remaining shredded coconut to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later.
-Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
-Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel or scissors, dusted with coconut flour. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with shredded coconut, using additional if necessary.
-Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

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Summit Street Joy

Pumpkin Squares

This is a perfect recipe for the season! I love the coconut crust! I live next door to my in-laws and I had them sample this recipe (They're are my very supportive guinea pigs :) They liked it as well!

Crust:
2 cups Shredded or Flaked Coconut
1/4 cup Honey
1/2 cup Coconut Oil

Filling:
1 1/2 cups Pumpkin Puree or Squash
2 eggs
1/4 cup Honey
2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 tsp Salt
Grated rind of 1 Lemon
1 cup Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk

-Make pie crust first. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
-Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and transfer to a 8x8 baking dish and press firmly against bottom.
-Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is a dark golden color. Allow to cool to room temperature.
-To make filling, cream eggs with honey. Gradually blend in other ingredients. Pour into prebaked coconut crust and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until firm.
-Store in fridge.
-Top with sweetened coconut cream (That's the thick stuff that has seperated from the milk when you open a can of coconut milk)

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Moms Crazy Cooking

Eat Squash!

It is healthy, tastes good, and is easy to cook! Rinse your squash (if it's dirty). Heat the oven to 375°. Put the whole squash on a cookie sheet and bake for an hour or so. Squash is done when you can poke a fork easily into it. Then the squash is easy to cut open and you can scoop out the seeds! I like it best with butter and salt and pepper! **If you are cooking a spaghetti squash, poke it with a knife first**

How to Make Coconut Milk

I like the Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk but we can't have it on the GAPS diet because of the Guar Gum that is in it. So...it's really simple to make your own coconut milk.

1 cup unsweetened Coconut Flakes
4 cups Water

-Soak the coconut flakes in the water for 4 hours.
-Blend the mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth.
-Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve or use cheesecloth.
-The liquid is your coconut milk.
-You can dry the pulp to make coconut flour. Bake at 225 degrees until dry or dehydrate. Grind the dried coconut to make flour.

{Recipe from Internal Bliss}

Cowboy Stew

{Recipe from Internal Bliss Cookbook}

This stew is so delicious! Using your homemade stock makes it so flavorful. Dieter loves "mamburger" so he was picking it out of the soup. He thought the soup should have had more meat and less vegetables :)

2-3 Tbsp Ghee
1 qt Beef Broth
1 Onion, chopped
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp Salt
2-3 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 Green Bell pepper, chopped
1 Red Bell pepper, chopped
1 Annaheim or Poblano Pepper, chopped
1 large Yellow Summer Squash or 1 medium Zucchini, chopped
1-2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Oregano
1-2 tsp Chili Powder (optional)
1 lb ground Buffalo or Ground Beef
1/2-1 cup chopped Cilantro, loosely packed (optional)

-Saute the onions in the ghee until they begin to soften. Add garlic and stir.
-Add spices and salt, and stir. Add the chopped peppers and yellow squash and saute for 5 minutes, or until they soften. Add a little broth if the vegetables start to dry.
-Add the meat and keep stirring to break up the meat. Once the meat begins to brown, pour in the stock and add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover pot and let simmer for 30 minutes.
-Once finished, remove the heat and stir in cilantro if desired. Adjust seasonings to taste if needed.

Mrs. Jones Soapbox Giveaway

THE GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!

Hi Friends! I am excited to have my first giveaway! ***Mrs. Jones Soapbox was Featured in Country Living Magazine*** I have been using Mrs. Jones Cleaning Supplies at my house, and I love them! They are made with all natural ingredients and they smell great! I know the chemical cleaners are terrible for us, but I am more worried for my children then I am myself. With these cleaners, I don't mind about my kids being in the same room while I am cleaning. The giveaway is the Eco-Friendly Household Cleaning Kit in Plastic and Laundry Soap Jar. You'll love them! Visit her on Etsy and check out her products. If you want to buy any products you can recieve 10% off through this link. And if you don't mind...enter my email kcall13 {at} yahoo {dot} com at checkout so I get credit for referrels.


To enter the giveaway, become a follower of Raising Dieter and leave me a comment! For an extra entry, post about this giveaway on Facebook or Blogger. Good luck! Winner drawn next week. *Shipping only in the United States*

1800flowers Coupon Codes

Egg Replacer

Thankfully Dieter can have eggs, but I know there are many people with an egg allergy. I have used this is some recipes and I think it works great! This is from my Reversing Food Allergies cooking class.

For each egg you need to replace, use 1 tablespoon flax or chia seeds soaked in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filtered water.

Simply put the flax or chia seeds in a saucepan and add the water, and warm it up for about 10-15 minutes on the stove. You can also just soak overnight at room temperature.

Discard the seeds and just use the “gel” (it will look like egg white).

If you want to make a fluffier baked good (that normally requires baking powder, which is not allowed), simply beat the chia/flax gel prior to folding

Grain-Free Crackers

I am taking an online cooking class called Reversing Food Allergies from Real Foods Media. It is a cooking class that is based on the GAPS diet. There are so many good recipes! I got this recipe from it. I am currently dehydrating my crackers. I used sunflower seeds. The are not done yet, but they already taste good. Dieter didn't really like them so I will experiment with different kinds of nuts/seeds for him.

2-3 cups Nuts and Seeds, soaked and dried (Any combination of pecans, pistachios, walnut, pine nuts, sesame seeds, almonds...Flax seeds do not need to be soak/dried but should be stored in the freezer.)
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 large Egg
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
Optional: Seeds, sea salt, chopped herbs, or grated Parmesan for the garnish

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Put the nuts and seeds into the food processor and blend until it is a meal or flour. Do not overblend or you will end up with a nut butter. It should be the consistency of sand.
-Melt the coconut oil.
-Add the egg and salt and pulse until combined.
-Add the coconut oil and blend.
-Put the dough onto the Silpat-or parchment lined baking sheet. Roll it out with a rolling pin as thin as you can get it. Smooth out the edges.
-If you like, you can decorate the top of the crackers dough with seeds and/or sea salt. Chopped rosemary or other herbs, or grated parmesan would also be nice to add.
-Use a pizza cutter to cut the size of crackers you want.
-Put it in the oven for 10-15 minutes-or put it on the lowest setting in your dehydrator (and let them go until they are very crisp-they will come out crispier in the dehydrator). If using the oven, keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn.
-Let them cool and enjoy!

Beef Stock

I use a roast when I make my beef stock. I prefer to have bones, but I don't always have them in the roast. I like the flavor of chicken stock better, but I have some recipes that call for beef stock. This is an easy way to make it. You could easily make a stew afterwards with your stock and meat.

1 Beef Roast
Sea Salt
Ground Pepper

-Place roast in stock pot and fill with water
-Add salt and pepper to your liking
-Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 2-3.5 hours
-Remove your meat and strain your stock
-Stock should keep for 7 days in the fridge or it freezes well

Pumpkin Pudding

{Recipe from Choosing Raw}

My cute little niece brought me over some pumpkin pudding tonight. It was really delicious. I could have done the easy thing and called my sister-in-law and asked for the recipe... I did the next easiest thing-the internet. I found this recipe. It has to be close to the one I tried. If not, it looks yummy too!

1/2 cup cashews
6 soaked and pitted dates
2 cups pumpkin puree
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon

-Grind the cashews in a food processor or blender until powdery.
-Add dates, pumpkin, almond milk and cinnamon to the processor and process, stopping often to scrape the bowl, till creamy and smooth.
-Serve

Potty Training

Nope! Haven't started yet. I'm waiting for Dieter to miraculously tell me he's potty trained :) I have bought him some "big boy" underwear and he found them today. He told me he wanted to wear them and this is how I found him. No need to take the diaper off, he'll just wear them overtop! I love my Dieter Bear!

Sweet Potato Pie with Secret Walnuts

{Recipe from Joel Fuhrman, M.D.}

I loved tasting the orange juice in this recipe. If you can't have walnuts, substitute in a different nut or leave nuts out.

6 sweet potatoes
2 peeled oranges
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons date sugar (I'm sure any sweetener would work. I would use raw honey)
1 cup walnut halves
1 15-ounce can unsweetened pineapple rings

-Bake sweet potatoes 70 minutes, until soft. Remove from oven and remove skin and any browned area.
-Blend oranges, juice, date sugar, and walnuts together in blender.
-Mix in the sweet potato
-Spoon into glass baking dish, place pineapple rings on top
-Bake for 10 mintues at 300 degrees

Spaghetti Sauce and Squash

So was it wrong of me to tell Dieter he was eating noodles when it was really spaghetti squash? He has never been able to have "regular" noodles before, always rice noodles but now he is off of all rice products. He really liked the squash and he kept saying, "I yike noodles." Oh, poor child! One day you won't have allergies! I got my spaghetti sauce recipe from a close friend and it's the only one I use now. Use it on noodles or squash. Both equally delicious!

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 large can Stewed Tomatoes (28 oz. Or 1 quart jar of home canned tomatoes)
1 can Tomatoe Sauce (8 oz)
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Pepper
Salt to taste

-Cook olive oil and Italian seasoning together for a few minutes to soften seasoning
-Add remaining ingredients to oil mixture and cook until warm

Link Up Here
The Thrifty Home

Who needs Halloween anyway?

Dieter's costume was adorable. I could never get him to wear it! He wouldn't even look at me for the picture. Samantha was a strawberry, cute! I hope every one enjoyed their Halloween!